Your Sweetheart Job
by Mark Derewicz
(filed under: business)
Courting Your Career. By Shawn Graham. Jist Works Publishing, 194 pages, $12.95.
Finding the perfect job is a lot like dating. In fact, the metaphor fits so well that readers might want to use Shawn Graham’s new book to find that someone special, too.
You’ve got to know your type, and to know your type you’ve got to first know yourself. Then you’ve got to get to know who’s out there; you don’t want to work for a firm just because it’s hot.
Yeah, flirting is okay. You can shadow an employee who has the kind of job you think you might like.
You can see people casually; it’s called interning. You can have several internships before getting serious.
Eventually you’ll have to narrow your search. Figure out what you don’t want, but be open. For instance, if there are no jobs available in Western Pennsylvania for a minor league hockey executive, try another state, or country, or sport.
Use your friends; they often know the people you need to meet. The folks at your school’s career services office, for example, know a lot of people.
Go clubbing. Job fairs are meat markets, yes, but if you know what you’re looking for, you might find it.
Always remember to dress appropriately. Those holey sneakers are not endearing, nor are they lucky.
Then comes the big day — the first date, I mean, first interview. You can foul up here in all sorts of ways, and you might never get that call-back. But Graham has all kinds of sound advice to see you through.
And, he says, don’t worry; it only gets easier the more you do it.
Shawn Graham is the associate director of the MBA Career Management Center at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
